


Where Are the Flowers

by 888mph



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2013-12-16
Packaged: 2018-01-04 19:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1084778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/888mph/pseuds/888mph
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day Erica is laid to rest the sky is blue, a gentle breeze cooling the otherwise too hot and dry air, as birds sing in the cyprus trees lining the graveyard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where Are the Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Jeff Davis doesn't like funerals, because they don't add anything to the plot. Well, neither do slow-motion scenes.
> 
> Title from William Cullent Bryant's The Death Of The Flowers. Thanks Athenadark for the suggestion.
> 
> Not beta-ed.

Derek remembers his 19th century literature class in college, the lecturer explaining how the weather would reflect the romantic hero's mood. It's a piece of trivia he remembers every time there's a funeral in a movie and the weather is as gloomy as the protagonist.

The day Erica is laid to rest the sky is blue, a gentle breeze cooling the otherwise too hot and dry air, as birds sing in the cyprus trees lining the graveyard.

The weather doesn't care that this girl won't walk the Earth anymore.

There's a beautiful crown next to the coffin, made of small white flowers in different shapes, speckled with the blue of wolfsbane.

The crown is his. He didn't know what to buy and ended up having what he's sure was his first real conversation with Lydia. She didn't say anything, listening to his request with a somber slope on her lips and the briefest nod of her head.

“Hollyhock is for ambition,” Lydia whispers like a prayer, sitting next to Derek. “Sweet alyssum for worth beyond beauty, because she was beautiful like she wanted, but she was much more. Hellebore for scandal,” she says and there's a hint of mirth in her voice.

Derek lets out a huff of laughter.

“She'd love that.”

“Yes, I thought so, too,” Lydia says, smiling softly. “Cinquefoil because she was a beloved daughter.” Lydia pauses and Derek looks at Mr. And Mrs. Reyes on the first row, who are holding hands, wrecked. “Acacia for friendship.” In the row in front of them Isaac ducks his head, shoulders shaking, as the air becomes salty with his tears. “Primrose for courage, for youth, for young love.” Boyd is staring in direction of the coffin, but his eyes are unfocused, lost. Derek doesn't know if he heard Lydia. “Star-of-bethlehem for reconciliation.” Derek doesn't need to look at Lydia to know she's looking at him. “Aconite because you said it's a werewolf tradition,” she finishes. “Did you knows it stands for misanthropy?”

Derek didn't know that.

“Weren't those girls the ones who picked on Erica because of her seizures?” Scott asks, a low growl slipping into his voice.

Derek looks at where Scott is staring and sees a group of teenage girls, sobbing into each other's shoulders. Next to him Stiles shrugs.

“It's the first time someone they knew died, someone their age,” he says. “They're not crying for Erica. They're crying for their own mortality.” Stiles is one year older than them, if that. He shouldn't sound this condescending.

The ceremony ends and a single line forms to walk past the coffin and greet Erica's parents.

The casket is closed, which Derek appreciates. Erica would have hated it if the last memory people had from her was anything but her vibrant beauty.

In front of him Stiles looks like he's patting the coffin, but when Derek steps forward he realizes Stiles glued a Batman sticker on the side of the lid. It's probably inappropriate, but it's also probably a private joke between Stiles and Erica, so Derek rubs the nail of his thumb on the sticker to make sure it's glued properly.

He shakes hands with Mr. Reyes and hugs Mrs. Reyes, who thanks him for the crown. She's young, still in her mid-thirties and looks one hundredth, looking at him with curiosity, probably wondering who he is and why did he get the crown.

When Boyd steps forward, Mrs Reyes huffs and looks away and Mr. Reyes doesn't say a word to him.

After everybody leaves, Boyd walks to the grave and Derek stays behind. Boyd plucks a primrose from the crown and even if Derek hasn't said a word, he knows Boyd is aware of his presence.

“They think we ran away to elope, or something,” Boyd says. “They think we were being silly.” He pauses, trying to control the breaking of his voice. “They think it was silly.”

Derek walks up to him and places a hand on his shoulder, a gesture his mother used to make whenever one of them was upset and that he caught himself doing it several times, but Boyd shrugs it away. Maybe Derek should drop it, let Boyd unmovable like the rock he's always been, but instead Derek pushes, puts his hand on the back of Boyd's neck and tugs.

And Boyd crumbles. His strongest beta, the most reliable, dependable, hides his face on Derek's shoulder and cries like the kid he is.

**Author's Note:**

> [Hollyhock](http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/2003/07/08/tcfromky/6b8036.jpg)   
>  [Sweet Alyssum](http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed../flowers/SweetAlyssum.jpg)   
>  [Hellebore](http://www.crocus.co.uk/images/products2/PL/20/00/01/39/PL2000013928_card_lg.jpg)   
>  [Cinquefoil](https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQIfYr1bTmR5cfQGaLOPSSzgX2D_afWBV_fJhHXUbkDa1wEhoQ8yw)   
>  [Acacia](http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/belchonock/belchonock1206/belchonock120605602/14163588-branch-of-white-acacia-flowers-on-green-background.jpg)   
>  [Primrose](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRfdEKTaFoxR43hQSTe_7SWrxYVgrd1W3ERVokqet_49st88yq0)   
>  [Star-Of-Bethlehem](http://healthyhomegardening.com/images/gardengeek/star_of_bethlehem_323.jpg)   
>  [Wolfsbane](http://www.plantadvice.co.uk/photos/gallery/2d38865b498b0a2a5ee034f4a057e6b4.jpg)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Meanings taken from [here](http://www.languageofflowers.com/flowermeaning.htm) and other places.


End file.
